Vampire: The Masquerade and Werewolf: The Apocalypse announcements at PDXCON 2019
Vampire: The Masquerade and Werewolf: The Apocalypse announcements at PDXCON 2019
Game News - posted by Infinitron on Sat 19 October 2019, 20:14:53
Tags: Andy Kipling; Big Bad Wolf; Brian Mitsoda; Cyanide Studio; Florian Schwarzer; Hardsuit Labs; Julien Desourteaux; Nacon; Paradox Interactive; Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2; Vampire: the Masquerade - Swansong; Werewolf: The Apocalypse - EarthbloodWith White Wolf formally integrated into Paradox since last November, the World of Darkness has a significant presence at this year's PDXCON event in Berlin. The first one of the upcoming World of Darkness computer RPGs to show up on PDXCON's main stage today (after being teased last week) was Cyanide's Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood action-RPG/action game with RPG elements. The game was originally announced way back in early 2017 and an early build was shown to the media behind closed doors at this year's E3, but this is actually its very first trailer. It's extremely 90s. According to publisher Bigben's press release, Earthblood is releasing in summer 2020.
Remember the Vampire: The Masquerade "narrative RPG" by The Council developers Big Bad Wolf announced back in May? Right before he left, Paradox's brand manager revealed that its title is Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong. The game is only coming out in 2021 so there's no trailer yet, but there are some new details in the press release from Bigben:
Remember the Vampire: The Masquerade "narrative RPG" by The Council developers Big Bad Wolf announced back in May? Right before he left, Paradox's brand manager revealed that its title is Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong. The game is only coming out in 2021 so there's no trailer yet, but there are some new details in the press release from Bigben:
Lesquin, France, October 19, 2019 - On the heels of Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood, Bigben’s catalogue is expanding its presence in The World of Darkness with the production of a new video game based on the famous franchise Vampire: The Masquerade. Already teased at Bigben Week 2019, this new game titled Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong will release in 2021. It will be developed by Big Bad Wolf studio, a narrative RPG specialist and author of the award-winning game The Council.
Vampire: The Masquerade is the most iconic role-playing game of its generation and sets the standard for many tabletop gamers. The first setting in the World of Darkness universe created by White Wolf Publishing in 1991, Vampire: The Masquerade transposes the vampire myth into modern societies. The player takes control of one of these immortal creatures hiding in the shadows of our cities. They struggle to control their bloodthirsty instincts by leading a life of both predator and outcast, in a world where the boundaries between reality and the supernatural are always blurred. Vampires in The World of Darkness are nothing like the solitary monsters of the ancient legends. They are superior and sophisticated creatures who live among humans behind a shield of secrecy: The Masquerade. Organised into complex secret societies, they create their own laws and are members of distinct clans with contrasting visions of their role in the world.
Thrilled with the success of The Council, Big Bad Wolf studio intends to continue specialising in narrative RPGs, a new genre that they are helping to define with their creations. With this adaptation of Vampire: The Masquerade, the team is working on its most ambitious project. The game will feature a strong story, supported by solid RPG mechanics that respect the rules of the fifth edition of Vampire: The Masquerade and the universe of The World of Darkness.
"At the studio, we're long-time and passionate fans of the tabletop role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade. We have wanted to create a video game inspired by this universe for several years now. This project fits perfectly with Bigben’s desire to expand its catalogue of narrative games. We are very happy to be unveiling it together," says Thomas Veauclin, Creative & Art Director at Big Bad Wolf.
"My past experience as an editor and author of role-playing games, and also as Editor-in-Chief of an RPG magazine, is proof of how important this project means to me personally," adds Benoit Clerc, Head of Publishing at Bigben." Just like me, many fans have been waiting a long time for a new adaptation of this cult game, which will be developed by one of the most talented studios of its generation."
In this narrative RPG adapted from the 5th edition of Vampire: The Masquerade, the player takes control of 3 vampires belonging to different clans of the Camarilla, the secret society to which most vampires belong. Weaving between their intertwined tales, the player has to confront the different points of view of his characters to unravel fact from fiction. With whispers of conspiracy, murder and power struggles, the player must protect his clan, discover the truth and above all enforce the Masquerade, the vampire law designed to conceal the existence of creatures of the night from humans.
Later during the day, there was a dedicated World of Darkness session which was mainly focused on tabletop, though Earthblood's game director Julien Desourteaux also made an appearance to speak about the game a bit. This was followed by a Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 development update session with Brian Mitsoda, Florian Schwarzer and Andy Kipling, which turned out to be a very frank extended apology and explanation for the game's recently announced delay. In short, what happened is that Hardsuit found out that they didn't have the manpower to bring Bloodlines 2 to an acceptable level of quality, particularly in the areas of combat and dialogue facial animations. They've spent the year hiring more people and intend to focus on improving those elements. There's a Q&A session tomorrow where fans will be able to ask the team additional questions about the game's progress.Vampire: The Masquerade is the most iconic role-playing game of its generation and sets the standard for many tabletop gamers. The first setting in the World of Darkness universe created by White Wolf Publishing in 1991, Vampire: The Masquerade transposes the vampire myth into modern societies. The player takes control of one of these immortal creatures hiding in the shadows of our cities. They struggle to control their bloodthirsty instincts by leading a life of both predator and outcast, in a world where the boundaries between reality and the supernatural are always blurred. Vampires in The World of Darkness are nothing like the solitary monsters of the ancient legends. They are superior and sophisticated creatures who live among humans behind a shield of secrecy: The Masquerade. Organised into complex secret societies, they create their own laws and are members of distinct clans with contrasting visions of their role in the world.
Thrilled with the success of The Council, Big Bad Wolf studio intends to continue specialising in narrative RPGs, a new genre that they are helping to define with their creations. With this adaptation of Vampire: The Masquerade, the team is working on its most ambitious project. The game will feature a strong story, supported by solid RPG mechanics that respect the rules of the fifth edition of Vampire: The Masquerade and the universe of The World of Darkness.
"At the studio, we're long-time and passionate fans of the tabletop role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade. We have wanted to create a video game inspired by this universe for several years now. This project fits perfectly with Bigben’s desire to expand its catalogue of narrative games. We are very happy to be unveiling it together," says Thomas Veauclin, Creative & Art Director at Big Bad Wolf.
"My past experience as an editor and author of role-playing games, and also as Editor-in-Chief of an RPG magazine, is proof of how important this project means to me personally," adds Benoit Clerc, Head of Publishing at Bigben." Just like me, many fans have been waiting a long time for a new adaptation of this cult game, which will be developed by one of the most talented studios of its generation."
In this narrative RPG adapted from the 5th edition of Vampire: The Masquerade, the player takes control of 3 vampires belonging to different clans of the Camarilla, the secret society to which most vampires belong. Weaving between their intertwined tales, the player has to confront the different points of view of his characters to unravel fact from fiction. With whispers of conspiracy, murder and power struggles, the player must protect his clan, discover the truth and above all enforce the Masquerade, the vampire law designed to conceal the existence of creatures of the night from humans.
